HSF - Twelfth Night

Finding herself bereft of family and wracked upon a foreign shore, Viola poses as a man to secure a post in the court of the Duke Orsino. She falls for him immediately, but says nothing as he thrusts her into service as messenger to the object of his own heart, Lady Olivia. The lady, in turn, falls for the messenger, giving rise to a gender-bending love triangle, or perhaps, with the added affections of Olivia's steward, Malvolio, and a visiting deviant, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, more like a love pentagon? Our production takes a contemporary look at a land where the merest flutter of romance sends red flags straight to the top of the pole.

The Hawaii Shakespeare Festival (HSF) celebrates its fifteenth season, and the 400-year anniversary of Shakespeare's death, with FREE admission to all performances. The fifteenth season includes Twelfth Night, opening July 8; The Witch of Edmonton, opening July 22; and A Midsummer Night's Dream, opening August 12.

The season continues with the Jacobean drama The Witch of Edmonton. Based on actual events from 1621 England, and featuring three intertwined plots of love, vengeance and the supernatural, The Witch of Edmonton is directed by Festival veteran Taurie Kinoshita and stars Stacy Ray as Mother Sawyer (the titular witch) and Nicolas Logue as the seductive Devil Dog.

The Festival concludes with A Midsummer Night's Dream, presented in invented language. The cast rely on inventive staging combined with vocal and physical expressiveness to convey the comedic tale of fairies interfering in the romantic lives of mortals. Directed by co-founder and producer Tony Pisculli, and starring Po'okela award-winners Stephanie Keiko Kong and Victoria Brown-Wilson as Oberon and Titania.

Admission is FREE at the door on a first come, first served basis. Advance reservations can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets for $10 by calling1-800-838-3006 or online at HawaiiShakes.org. For more information, including maps and directions, visit HawaiiShakes.org.